Microsoft\u00a0is releasing an Xbox app for smart TVs, enabling consumers to stream Xbox video games even if they don\u2019t own consoles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microsoft said Thursday that it will first bring the app to Samsung\u2019s 2022 smart TVs and then expand distribution to other manufacturers. It\u2019s a bold bet for Microsoft, after Xbox\u2019s hardware revenue jumped 92% last year. The company said the app will be available starting June 30, in 27 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move indicates Microsoft is focused on picking up revenue from gaming content and services, as opposed to just consoles, where the company is lagging behind Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft\u2019s biggest splash in gaming came earlier this year, when the company announced\u00a0plans\u00a0to buy game publisher\u00a0Activision Blizzard\u00a0for $68.7 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaming is Microsoft\u2019s fourth-largest major product category, and the company is aiming to lure more users to its Game Pass subscription service, which costs $10 a month and includes an option for people playing on PCs and streaming via the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hardware business picked up steam in 2020 after Microsoft\u00a0released\u00a0its Xbox Series X and S consoles, and as people spent more time playing games while offices and schools were closed due to the\u00a0Covid pandemic. But component supply shortages and more recently lockdowns in China have hurt Microsoft\u2019s ability to produce new consoles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have taken share globally for two quarters in a row, and we are the market leader this quarter among next-gen\u00a0consoles\u00a0in the United States, Canada, U.K. and Western Europe,\u201d Microsoft CEO\u00a0Satya Nadella\u00a0told analysts on a conference call in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the overall picture isn\u2019t so rosy. London-based researcher Ampere Analysis\u00a0estimated\u00a0that Microsoft sold 7.7 million Xbox Series S and X consoles in 2021, while Sony sold 12.5 million PlayStation 5 systems and Nintendo sold 24.3 million Switches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gamers will be able to play the Xbox app with Sony\u2019s Bluetooth-connected DualSense controllers as well as Microsoft\u2019s wireless Xbox controllers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In opening up gaming off the console, Microsoft is going where gamers are playing. That means catering to mobile devices running operating systems from\u00a0Apple\u00a0or\u00a0Google. Over 25 million Game Pass subscribers can stream games from Microsoft\u2019s data centers onto those devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A year ago Microsoft\u00a0said\u00a0the Xbox division was developing streaming devices for cloud gaming. The company won\u2019t be requiring gamers to connect special devices to Samsung televisions to stream games through the Xbox app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have made the decision to pivot away from the current iteration\u201d of a streaming device codenamed Keystone, a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC in an email. \u201cWe will take our learnings and refocus our efforts on a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samsung leads the smart TV market with 21.3% share, according to data from Informa Tech\u2019s technology research subsidiary Omdia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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